VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

China has signaled that it will continue negotiations on the code of conduct (CoC) in the South China Sea (SCS) with ASEAN countries.

“Indonesia and China are the two largest maritime countries in the South China Sea. We will again comply with the principles of consultation, "said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in a bilateral meeting with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Wednesday (13/1/2021), at the Pancasila Building, Jakarta.

ASEAN and China previously agreed on the CoC framework in 2020.

Wang Yi said China would continue the CoC consultation and fully implement the Behavior of the Parties in the South China Sea (DoC) with ASEAN countries.

“We will work with ASEAN countries to fully and effectively implement the DoC. And, it will effectively increase CoC consultation, ”said Wang Yi.

Wang Yi added, his party ensures that it is committed to building regional rules that are in line with international law in the SCS through the CoC.

"Together to build regional rules that are in line with effective and substantive international law to protect the peace and stability of the SCS," he explained. At the bilateral meeting, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi also emphasized the importance of maintaining the SCS as a peaceful and stable sea.

"To achieve this there is only one thing that must be done by all countries, namely respecting and implementing international law including the 1982 UNCLOS," said Retno Marsudi.

A number of ASEAN countries through which the SCS has long opposed the principle of the "nine dashed line" which China claims unilaterally.

Indonesia under President Joko Widodo's administration initiated the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, with the main objective of promoting the principles of openness, inclusiveness, transparency, respect for international law and ASEAN centrality in the Indo-Pacific region.

Indirectly, ASEAN emphasized that it must continue to prioritize openness and centrality in dispelling various major powers in the Indo-Pacific region.

Wang Yi stated that in the bilateral meeting with Retno Marsudi, he also discussed the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.

"Also, I also discussed with the Indonesian Foreign Minister about the ASEAN outlook on the IndoPacific. And from our comprehensive and strategic partnership, we discussed these issues and increased mutual understanding of these issues, "said Wang Yi.

The SCS, which is a region in the Indo-Pacific, has often become a "battleground" between the United States and China with their respective claims to maintain stability in these waters.

Meanwhile, the Code of Conduct (CoC) or code of ethics of the parties in the SCS is currently still in the discussion stage between ASEAN and China.

The CoC itself was first proposed by ASEAN when the concept was ratified in 1996 with Singapore presenting the framework at the 2018 ASEAN Summit. (RRI)